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as Montessori schools. Others, such as the one Sean attended, are set up for youth who have had behavior problems or are at risk of dropping out.

Sean credited his experience at the alternative school for the success he’s enjoying now. His math teacher was an alumnus of Berklee College of Music in Boston and had discussed drums with him on several occasions. She had listened to tapes of Sean’s band and saw talent. Ultimately, she encouraged and helped him to apply for a scholarship at Berklee. Sean has just completed his first semester on a full scholarship there.

Though Sean said he probably would have gone to college anyway, he said he probably wouldn't

have had the interest level to succeed. His math teacher had helped him to find a way to pursue his passion while still succeeding in school.

Overall, Sean remarked, an alternative education catered to his individual needs better than traditional public education. It helped him graduate and helped him find a positive direction for his love of music.

“I still got to the end of the road the way everybody else did,” Sean concluded. “I just took a different path.”

HFI News Briefs

New Staff at HFI
The Hamilton Fish Institute is pleased to welcome Ruth Marshall to its research staff. Marshall joined the staff in May. Before joining the Institute, Marshall worked for 14 years on substance abuse, health communication/promotion and youth issues. 

HFI Provides Technical Support
In April, several HFI research staffers concluded initial work with a Richmond Public Schools Task Force. Debby Jennings, Lori McGee, Avinash Patwardhan, Madeline Sullivan and Dennis White have been advising and facilitating discussions with the Task Force as it examined the feasibility of opening a new alternative school in the district. The school, which would provide services to youth with disciplinary referrals, was slated to open in September 2003. The group concluded that the district would benefit more by a facility that offers a comprehensive continuum of services that address the whole school climate and provides support to both teachers and students. The board overwhelmingly voted to support the recommendations. Members of the Task Force praised HFI staff for their assistance to the Board.

Lori McGee and Debby Jennings spent some time in April with alternative education practitioners in Prince William County Public Schools in Northern Virginia. They visited five different programs that form a continuum of alternative placements for “at-risk” students. Particularly notable, Jennings said, was the elementary prevention program for second through fifth graders, training for all staff and transition coordination for all students.

Literature Review Progress
For the past several months, the research staff has been conducting a synthesis of existing literature on school violence. Phase One of the literature review was completed in March and substantial progress has been made in writing reports on the materials collected.

Safe Schools/Healthy Students Session
Beverly Glenn, HFI's executive director, presented a session on school/university partnerships at the Safe Schools/Healthy Students conference sponsored by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention April 6-9. Two members of the HFI research partnership — Steve Rollin, of Florida State University and Bessel van der Kolk, of the Trauma Center – Boston joined Glenn in her presentation. This is the first time that HFI has been asked to participate.